‘It hurt like hell’ to not be named WNBA MVP, A’ja Wilson says

South Carolina women’s basketball great A’ja Wilson finished third in the race for the 2023 WNBA MVP award, the league announced Tuesday.

“It hurt like hell, it really did,” Wilson told The Associated Press. “But it’s all part of the game.”

Thirteen points separated MVP Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Wilson in third place. Alyssa Thomas of the Connecticut Sun finished second, seven points behind Stewart. This accounted for the second-smallest margin of victory for an MVP winner and the smallest margin between first- and third-place finishers in league history. The previous record was a 45-point difference between Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne in 2013.

The MVP voting is determined by a 60-person national media panel. They submit their top five choices for the distinction in order. Ten points are awarded for a first-place vote, seven for a second-place vote, five for a third-place vote, three for a fourth-place vote and one for a fifth-place vote.

Stewart received 20 first-place votes, 23 second-place votes and 17 third-place votes (446 total points). Thomas received 23 first-place votes, 12 second-place votes and 25 third-place votes (439 points). Wilson earned 17 first-place votes, 25 second-place votes, 17 third-place votes and a single fourth-place vote (433 points).

A native of Hopkins, South Carolina, Wilson committed to play for USC coach Dawn Staley as the No. 1 recruit in the country in 2014. She helped lead South Carolina to its first national championship in 2017. She essentially swept national postseason awards her senior year, earning National Player of the Year nods from espnW, USA Today, AP, USBWA and Basketball Times along with the Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Wade Trophy.

Staley, who had been campaigning for Wilson to win MVP and Aliyah Boston to win Rookie of the Year all season long, shared her thoughts on social media.

“Congrats to Stewie for @WNBA POY…helluva season! Alyssa congrats to you for just being your normal beast mode self! A you know I (heart emoji) you. Your life and career are favored and divinely ordered so your harvest time is coming. To the 4th place voter your hate is real & on display.”

A’ja Wilson WNBA history

This season, Wilson helped her Las Vegas Aces to a No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs. The team won its first WNBA championship last year and looks to become the first franchise since the Los Angeles Sparks (2001 and 2002) to become back-to-back champions.

Last week, Wilson won a second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award. She became the fifth player ever to win the league MVP and Defensive Play of the Year awards in the same season last year and first to do so since Jackson in 2007 (others include Yolanda Griffith in 1999, Cheryl Swoopes in 2000 and 2002, and Lisa Leslie in 2004).

Wilson was named to her fifth All-Star team in 2023, having received the most fan votes of any player in the league. Wilson also tied the WNBA scoring record with a 53-point performance against the Atlanta Dream last month.

She is averaging 22.8 points with an effective field goal percentage (eFG) of 56.5%, 9.5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks this year. Each of those numbers are slightly up from her previous MVP seasons. In 2020, she averaged 20.5 points with a 48% eFG, 8.5 rebounds and two blocks. In 2022, she averaged 19.5 points with a 53.1% eFG, 9.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks.

Over the course of her six-year career, she’s averaged 19.9 points, 1.8 blocks, 2.1 assists, 8.7 rebounds, 49.8% eFG.